


Light the Way Home

by HazelBeka



Series: Families are Found in the Strangest of Places [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Unresolved Romantic Tension, pre-genin Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelBeka/pseuds/HazelBeka
Summary: Konoha’s summer matsuri is an evening of fairground stalls, street food and twinkling lights. When Iruka takes Naruto to the festival, he’s resigned to the fact that even if he sees Hound there, he won’t recognise him. Hound has other plans.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Families are Found in the Strangest of Places [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692475
Comments: 48
Kudos: 524





	Light the Way Home

The woods were quiet after the noise and energy of the festival. The sun was low in the sky, and although the day was still warm, it was a pleasant evening warmth that meant the walk up the mountain wasn’t as arduous as Iruka had feared. The path was by no means steep, and they weren’t going far – Naruto was even managing to run ahead, chasing the first glimmering fireflies – but Iruka was glad of the light cotton of his yukata all the same.

“Don’t go too far ahead,” he called, and Naruto yelled something back around a mouthful of dango. Iruka had a sudden vision of him tripping and falling with the dango stick in his mouth and had to shake away the image. Surely he wasn’t old enough to be an overprotective parent yet. He’d only just turned twenty-one for God’s sake, and Naruto was a nine-year-old trained to handle deadly weapons. Iruka paused to remember the last weapons class they’d had and winced, making a mental note to take the dango stick away from Naruto as soon as he caught up.

It was the second year he’d taken Naruto to the summer festival, and he’d already started to tentatively think of it as a tradition between them. The festival itself was to commemorate the founding of Konoha, and they’d watched a performance in the village square that re-enacted the truce between the Uchiha and Senju clans, complete with a beautifully choreographed battle and ending with a shrine maiden chanting prayers for the Uchiha clan, massacred four years ago now but still honoured and remembered. Afterwards, they’d watched the parade through the streets, pushing their way to the front so Naruto could stare wide-eyed at the dancers and the shinobi dressed in traditional costumes doing katas in perfect sync. 

There had been one wobbly moment when the floats had come past, each a shrine to the three dead hokages, and although Naruto didn’t recognise the blond, smiling face of the fourth hokage as his father, enough people surrounding them did that Iruka had to spend a good few minutes glaring down the dirty looks they received. But no one had said anything, and Naruto had been so caught up in the excitement that Iruka didn’t think he’d noticed.

As afternoon had given way to evening they’d done a round of the stalls, eating more fried food than was probably sensible and trying their hand at the games, failing – to Iruka’s secret relief – to win a goldfish. And then Iruka had noticed the time and hurried them through the throng towards the village gates, slipping out of the village proper and into the shadowed quiet of the trees as dusk fell.

It was about a half an hour’s walk to the spot Iruka had in mind: a small field of wildflowers halfway up the mountain, stretching from the woods to a ledge that dropped over the cliff the hokages’ faces were carved into. There had once been a shrine up here, and the land had been cleared of trees for that purpose, but the building was gone now and not many people knew about it.

“Stay away from the edge,” Iruka said sharply as Naruto darted onto the grass.

“I know,” Naruto huffed, but he still barrelled right towards the edge of the cliff and Iruka curled a hand around a barrier seal just in case. Thankfully he didn’t need to use it. Naruto skidded to a stop so close to the edge that Iruka drew in a sharp breath, and then he turned and waved impatiently for Iruka to follow him.

From the edge of the cliff, they had an unimpeded view down to Konoha below them. Iruka could pick out the clan compounds near the village wall, large swathes of green land surrounding the traditional sloping roofs, and the lights of the festival in the main streets, which were lined with so many twinkling lanterns that the glow was visible even from up here. Beyond the village, the sun had already sunk down beneath the horizon but the few wispy clouds were still tinged with orange and pink and the sky was a pale, washed-out blue, darkening gently.

“I can see the Academy,” Naruto said, tugging at Iruka’s arm and pointing. “And the Hokage Tower! And…”

As Naruto pointed out half the geography of Konoha – at least some of it correctly – Iruka tried to read the time on his watch in the deepening gloom. It was almost time. Below them, he could just make out a crowd starting to gather by the training fields, and he was glad they’d escaped the crush and noise of it. He’d had enough of crowds for one evening; they were especially exhausting with a child in tow, forever running off and slipping through spaces that Iruka couldn’t follow him through. No, he much preferred the solitude of the mountain to finish the day, even if Naruto’s insistence on standing right at the edge of the cliff was taking years off his life.

He was steering Naruto gently back a few paces when a movement in the field behind them caught his eye. A figure was emerging from the treeline and walking towards them. Iruka stared at the interloper with dismay. He’d hoped this would be a private spot for himself and Naruto, although if they had to share then at least it seemed that the stranger was alone. Naruto hadn’t even noticed, still chattering about the festival, and Iruka hummed noncommittally and tried to wipe his disappointment off his face before the stranger got close enough to see it. He tried to make out the stranger’s face in the deepening twilight, and then stiffened as he realised why he couldn’t.

The stranger was a man, he could tell that much from the dark blue yukata he wore, the broad shoulders and the man’s height, but his face was obscured by an ANBU mask. As he came closer, Iruka made out the markings on the mask, as familiar as the rest of the outfit was foreign. Naruto noticed his distraction and followed his gaze, squinting at the mask for a moment before his face lit up and he ran towards the newcomer.

“Hound!” He flung his arms around Hound’s waist, and Hound patted his head. “I didn’t know you were gonna be here too!” He looked back at Iruka. “You didn’t tell me Hound would be here!”

“I didn’t know,” Iruka said. His mouth was suddenly dry. 

He’d told Hound about his plans to take Naruto up the mountain, had thought wistfully about how nice it would have been to go together, but Hound had mentioned that he’d be off duty that night and therefore out of uniform. Iruka had assumed that meant he wouldn’t see Hound at all tonight – or not knowingly. He’d wondered as they’d walked the streets of the festival whether Hound was nearby, whether he’d noticed Iruka and had to keep his distance, but he hadn’t let himself dwell on it. These days he spent too much time thinking of Hound as it was.

“I thought I’d slip away and come surprise you,” Hound said. Naruto finally let him go, and Iruka went over to join them, happy to relocate away from the edge of the cliff. “That’s OK, isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s OK!” Naruto said, but Hound was still looking at Iruka.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Iruka said softly. “Did we…” He hesitated, not sure if he should ask, but then decided that if Hound didn’t want to answer then he didn’t have to. “Did we see you at the festival?”

“We crossed paths,” Hound said. “Once or twice.”

Iruka cast his mind back, but most of the village had been at the festival and a plain blue yukata didn’t exactly make Hound stand out.

It was the first time Iruka had ever seen him without his armour, and he couldn’t help stealing little glances. There was nothing distinctive about Hound’s figure, but without his uniform his edges were softer. Hound had always kept himself at one remove from Iruka, increasing the distance whenever Iruka strayed too close, but tonight, for whatever reason, he’d chosen to bridge the gap himself. Not completely – that mask was still a buffer – but for the first time Hound had placed himself within reach. If Iruka wanted to, he could place a hand on Hound’s chest and feel the heartbeat beneath his ribs.

He became aware that Hound was watching him too, and he felt his cheeks flush. Did Hound think he was checking him out? _Was_ Iruka checking him out? He turned away, casting for something to say.

Hound beat him to it. “You look good in a yukata,” he said softly.

If Hound hadn’t noticed him blushing before, he would now. No night could be dark enough to hide the colour Iruka knew his face must be. He risked a glance back up at Hound. They were standing very close together.

“Thanks,” he said. He wet his lips nervously with his tongue and wondered if Hound’s gaze, hidden in the shadows of the mask, had flicked down to watch his mouth.

Before he could say anything else, the first firework screamed into the sky and burst into coloured sparks. Naruto gave a whoop, and Iruka’s gaze lingered on Hound for half a moment more before he turned to watch the display. Their arms brushed together, and Iruka was wholly conscious that his hand was perhaps an inch from Hound’s. He waited for Hound to take a step away, but he didn’t, and that inch of air sizzled between their fingers.

The fireworks were more impressive from up here, just as Iruka had planned. Naruto let out appreciative noises as the night exploded into red and green bursts, crackling sparks of silver, and swirling hisses of gold. A haze of smoke drifted across the field, heavy with the scent of gunpowder and hiding the village beneath a veil so that it seemed the three of them were the only ones watching the shimmering lights scatter across the sky. Through it all, Hound’s arm rested lightly against Iruka’s own, and Iruka’s pulse thrummed so hard that he felt sure Hound must feel it in their almost-touching wrists.

When the final firework had faded from the sky, the night was darker than before and the silence deeper. The cicadas had retreated further into the woods, away from the smoke, and their chirps were muffled and distant. The last of the daylight had long trickled over the horizon, and the moon was a sharp sliver low in the sky, not bright enough to see by. 

“That was awesome,” Naruto said. He spun around and bumped straight into Iruka, who caught him. “Hey, it got dark! How are we gonna get home?”

Before Iruka could answer, a soft light flickered into existence. Several small flames had unfurled from thin air, floating a couple of feet above head height and lighting a path back across the meadow towards the woods.

“Good thing I know a ‘light the way home’ jutsu,” Hound said.

Naruto rushed to stand underneath the nearest flame and stare up at it, and Iruka was very glad Hound had placed it out of his reach.

“Does that mean we’re walking home together?” he asked. He’d half expected Hound to melt away into the darkness. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

“If you’ll suffer my company for a little longer,” Hound said.

Ahead of them, Naruto was already wandering away, following the flames, and Iruka called after him.

“Don’t run off, Naruto. Wait for us.”

Once Naruto had stopped, jumping up to try and see one of the flames better, Iruka turned back to Hound, who was still patiently waiting for permission. As if Iruka would ever say no.

“I always like spending more time with you,” he said, and his heart beat harder again, afraid he’d said too much.

Hound touched him lightly on the shoulder, and Iruka’s skin tingled under his long fingers.

“Me too,” he said.

Together, they walked under the golden light of the flames, the air still perfumed with the warm scent of smoke, and Naruto skipped ahead, calling back to them over his shoulder. Iruka knew that the next time they met, Hound would be in uniform again and the distance that came with it would be back, but there was no point mourning the loss of something still within his grasp, no matter how fleetingly. And so he anchored himself firmly in the present, savouring each unhurried step at Hound’s side, and for a time there were only the lights and the woods and the mountain, and the three of them, together.

**Author's Note:**

> You may have noticed that I'm writing this series out of order - this story takes place between the other two. At some point I might reorder the series so they're chronological but for the time being I'm just writing moments from this verse as and when they come to me and it doesn't really matter what order you read them in.
> 
> EDIT - the amazing and talented reiney drew some fanart inspired by a couple of fics in this series! They're so cute, please head along to her blog and check it out [here](https://reineydraws.tumblr.com/post/639546357241217024/me-just-one-kakairu-doodle-with-anbukakashi-to)


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